Beverly Hills Camping

When we looked on Google Maps the drive from Portland to West Bank looked like a good idea . . . with three extended stops and about 11 hours later we pulled into West Bay RV park tired, a little delirious, and with five numb bums.  One of the great things about staying in Papa's and Grammy's trailer is that we just get to show up, unlock the door and start relaxing . . . or in this case, get ready for bed!
This year we decided to spend ten days up in West Bank enjoying our time together and taking advantage of what the area has to offer.

1.  Went to one of our favourite pools H2O in Kelowna.  There are water slides, a wave pool, a river run, diving boards, and a flow jet.  Emma loved splashing me in the water park as she turned the different knobs and dials.  This year the boys did a great job on the surf simulator as they were able to stay in the surf with their body boards.

2.  Spent the day at the water park / skateboard park.  For the boys first time riding in a skateboard park, they did fairly well riding up and then down some of the ramps.  Emma must have gone up and down the little water slide about fifty times.

I don't think Emma is having much fun!

3.  Took the kids to see a working orchard in Vernon called Davison's Orchard Country Village where we learned a little bit about the area's history and the orchard.  The kids enjoyed playing in the kid's zone where they got to play mini golf, play in the corn box (like a sand box, but filled with corn), tricycle races, duck races, tractor ride, and petting farm.  One of the highlights was feeding apples to the sheep, goats and the donkey.

I like d'em apples.

4.  West Side Go Carts needs a lot of TLC, but the kids had a blast anyways.  Josh and Jamie were allowed to drive the Kitty Carts around a smaller track which they both really enjoyed.  Emma who was Josh's passenger was smiling from ear to ear as she pretended to help steer the go cart from her seat.  Josh wants Jamie to take Emma next time as the added weight appeared to slow him down. 

The boys had a dilemma on their hands as they struggled with being a passenger in the faster carts or driving themselves.  Josh really thought about this as he decided to drive his own cart since he never gets to drive himself at most go-cart centres.  The boys made a great choice as they had fun racing each other around the track.

5.  We found a crocodile sanctuary online called Croc Talk that has tortoises, chickens, a variety of species of crocodiles, and a couple of African big cats.  The kids learned a lot as we were a part of a guided tour of the different animals that they saw.  They all were brave enough to touch one of the crocodiles, but they really enjoyed watching the owner interact with Carlos the African Caracal.  Lets just say that the cat was not happy about him playing with his stuffed gorilla and being woken up from his sleep.  Connection!!!  I know someone else who is not a morning person and does not like to be woken up . . . I've been know to hiss and take swipes at people as well!!!

6.  The boys were super excited about participating in a free skateboarding camp that was put on by West 49th and Disney XD.  Mich received the Mother of the Year award from the boys as she was able to register them into the camp in Kelowna.  The boys had a blast learning to ride the ramps and on how to do an ollie.  Oh great . . . now my boys want to be professional skateboarders.   

6.  And of course hanging out at the lake and the RV park with the kids swimming, playing deck wars, running and doing dock jumps, playing in the sand, and fishing off the docks.

Every time we drove by Wendy's after this treat, Emma wanted to go in for another Frosty.  Another summer tradition

Yes folks, Jamie caught his first fish using his fishing rod.  He was not excited about it or anything.

Although we missed having S'more Day at our friend's house, we did manage to have our own little celebration at the lake.  Mich made the s'mores using a shoebox and tinfoil . . . of course she did . . . doesn't everyone do this?

Even Ji-chan and Ba-chan came up to visit us for a couple of days.  They were really good sports about playing a little beach volleyball with the kids.

We met Mich's friend Tiff who introduced us to a new beach in Kelowna that had a cool zip line that went into the water.

Thanks Grammy and Papa for letting us stay in your trailer . . . we had a blast!

Schwakida's Invade Portland

We continued our traveling road show as we met up with the Schwartzs' in Seattle and journeyed onto Portland.  I must admit that traveling with the Schwartzs' continues to be like putting on that old comfy hoodie . . . you know the one . . . the one with holes in it, all of the comfy cotton has been worn and washed flat, there are multiple stains on it, and their is a distinct smell to it.  Now I am not saying that the Schwartz's are in need of a good scrubbing and that they stink, but there is some comfort in traveling with another family that can put up with the quirkiness of the Hikeats.  As parents, we all have our roles when we travel . . . Mich and Lisa spend countless hours planning our day trips, believe it or not I try to throw in my two bits here and there about what we should do, and Tatum, who is usually indifferent as to what or where we go is surprisingly decisive about where we should eat.  Lisa is the human sherpa as she often has a kid draped on her, Tatum is carrying his camera pack and snapping photos, I am battling my kids in the hotel pool, and Mich is supervising the pool deck from her lounger or from the comfort of the hot tub.  The reason why our Schwakida Adventures work is because we all know our roles and we do it well.  Mich said it best, "We don't have to drive five hours to have fun, we could be in Hope, BC and have a blast being together".  Apparently, Michelle has told me that Lisa has blogged about us being compared to a pair of old jeans . . . personally I think of us as a fine wine . . . a diamond in the rough . . . every cloud's silver lining . . . the twinkle in your eye.

Our little chickadees in an eagle's nest.

The kids loved seeing all of the different animals at the Portland Zoo.  Josh enjoyed being our tour guide as he directed us around the zoo with his map.

Emma does love her music.

Yes, we even managed to have S'mores in our hotel room for a sweet treat.

I love my kids, but this is the main reason why I will do everything possible not to sleep with them on road trips.

One of the highlights of our trip to Portland was going on the Willamette Jet Boat tour.  Although the captain of the boat shared his knowledge of this area, the kids loved the 360's, power slides, and especially the Royal Flush.  The Royal Flush is where the boat travels in a straight line and then the Captain buries the nose into the water causing a flood of water to pour over the front window and into the seating area.  We were all soaked and Mich even had a small pool of water in her lap.  Advice: 1) If you want the full experience, try to get on with a boisterous baseball team that is willing to banter with the pilot 2) bring a zip lock bag to keep your wallet and cell phone safe.

These two were fun to watch as "Jackie" was a little unsure at times as to how to deal with our little princess.  One of my favourite things to do was to eaves drop on Emma's and Jack's conversations . . . I think sometimes these talks were a little one sided.  I wonder where she gets the gift of the gab from?

One of the things that we have been trying to do a little more is introduce our kids to some new experiences like the jet boat tour.  Luckily our hotel was one of the stops for the Portland Train that travels from the airport to Beaverton . . . so we decided to take advantage of this and make our way to downtown Portland via train.  Lets just say that the Train was quickly nicknamed the Milk Run as it made a 'couple' of stops along the way . . . what else would you expect of public transit?  As the driver in our family, I found it quite relaxing not having to deal with Portland traffic and trying to follow the Schwartz's car, but I guess there were a few too many stops for one of our traveling companions.

 When completed our last stop on our Milk Run we managed to find our way to Powell Books . . . a book store that is one block long and has an incredible childrens' book selection . . . well lets just look at our group: five kids who love books, three teachers (one classroom teacher, one district consultant, one librarian), and one physiotherapist/photographer.  Hmm . . . does anyone else see a possible black sheep of this group who might not appreciate this bookstore as much???  Now I am not saying that Tatum does not read, but once he got through the photography books which took about 15 minutes, he spent the next hour and fifteen minutes trying to figure out why were we still there.  We managed to do some reading, some searching, some selecting, and we even got to see an author read aloud her book during story time.  Once the decisive Hikeats made there selections we were off to Jamison Square to cool down and splash in their fountain.

It was hot today so it was a nice reprieve from the heat as the kids frolicked in the fountain.

Even in this heat, Mich managed to steal a few snuggles from the kids.

Tatum made a great choice as we stopped for lunch at this little burger shop called the Little Big Burger.  I think I got my salt intake for the week eating those fries.  I would definitely go back again if I had the chance.

Whirl Wind Tour of Seattle

Yes, we are back in Seattle!  Traveling with a different family has allowed us to visit some of our favourites, but also take in some of those sights that we have not done in a while.  This was a go, go, go visit of Seattle as we managed to not only exhaust our kids, but also us as well.  We started the trip at Science World, where membership has its privileges as we were able to bypass the commoners line up, exploring the many displays and hands on activities built for kids.  One of the kids in our group loves animals, insects . . . lets be honest anything that has a heart beat and can crawl on the ground.  One of the highlights of our visit was the feeding of the boa constrictor, which only eats twice a month.  The kids spent about an hour in the butterfly exhibit, while Emma and I made houses with enlarged pattern blocks . . . lets just say that Emma was very particular about how I could help her out . . . lets just say that whatever I did was not what she wanted.

I was very surprised and pleased to see Emma holding this creepy crawly thing.

Our next stop was hopping on the tram and travelling to Pike Place.  "What stop are we getting off at?"  "This is it". "What, that's it?"  Lets just say that the kids were a little shocked as to how short the tram ride was . . . so was I.  The kids got a kick out of watching the Fish Throwing store . . . they really know how to draw a crowd and stir up business for themselves . . . I must admit that it looks like a fun place to work.  If I ever give up teaching, you will know where to find me . . . chucking fish at my coworkers!  I think I would have a few grievances filed against me if I did this now.

The Space Noodle, which was named by one of our friends and has stuck with our kids.  Josh wanted it to look like he was holding the Space Noodle up with his hand.

Day two we decided to hit my favourite spot on our Seattle tour, which is Sky High Sports.  When we arrived, there was a special on for a second hour for an extra $3!  (Well, this is a no brainer I thought to myself . . . this decision would come back to haunt us).  We decided to buck up and pay for the extra hour because we felt that if the kids only stay for an extra 10 minutes we got our moneys worth . . . well, TWO HOURS later our passes finally ran out and we were forced to leave . . . lets just say that I was counting down the minutes from about minute 10 of the first hour as my legs were already feeling it.
Next stop, the Rainforest Cafe and then off to the Childrens' Museum in Everett.

Josh has taken an interest in taking pictures.  I especially like this close up of one of the fishes he found in the fish tank at the Rainforest Cafe.

In one of the rooms at the Childrens' Museum they had some blocks out for the "KIDS" to build with . . . so like any parent, I decided to partake in the challenge of building some towers.  At first, I tried to create an unique tower, but then I noticed Pat was building for height . . . now I am not competitive at all so I decided to take up this challenge and started to build up and up and up.  When I couldn't reach any higher as I was on my tippy toes (okay, I know you are thinking it so, insert your short jokes here), I decided to grab the bench sitting close by.  By this point Pat's tower collapsed, so I was already crowned King of the Tower building contest, but I carried on anyways because if I always give up when others fail, I would never be challenged ;) .  It got to the point where I could no longer reach standing on my tippy toes on the bench so I had to enlist the help of my 6" 4' travelling partner to put the last floor on.

Josh and his friend enjoyed trying to knock the towers down with the wooden blocks.  

Of course Josh got into the building of the towers.

Emma really enjoyed the veterinarian clinic and the pizza shop.

Being Chased By The Tide

It has been quite some time since we have taken our family to Jericho Beach and I have forgotten how beautiful it is and how much fun it is.  We decided to meet Ji-Chan, Ba-Chan and our cousins for a day of sun, water and togetherness.  The day could not have gone better as the sun was shining and the kids were having a blast skim boarding, looking for sea creatures, and playing in the sand . . . all under the watchful eyes of their Ji-chan and Ba-chan.

The girls looking for some crabs to put into their buckets.

I think all of the boys skateboarding in the streets has helped them with their skim boarding.  Throughout the morning we were continually chased by the tide as we would set up our camp so that the kids could skim board . . . only to have to move our stuff to a new location as the water rolled in.  Although we had to move several times, the constant packing up was worth it as the kids found some great pools of water.

Jamie pick up your head!!!

This was the only way we could get them to stop and take a break.

A great day at the beach being kids.

Emma thought her new legs were hilarious!